Women's HERstory Month Day 28: Fighting for Life, the story of Dr. Sara Josephine Baker

Mar 28, 2012 10:29

SARA JOSEPHINE BAKER: PHYSICIAN AND PUBLIC HEALTH WORKER, 1873-1945
by Marsha Lakes Matyas
The American Physiological Society


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womens health, womens history month, medicine, women

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poli_jerk March 28 2012, 16:02:04 UTC
Amazing post, OP!

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carmy_w March 28 2012, 16:23:59 UTC
Great post!

And:

"the controversial development of the Little Mothers Leagues where eight- to nine-year-old girls were taught how to take care of younger children while their mothers were working to earn a living to support the children. Many protested that the Leagues were "enslaving the young girls so their mothers could be irresponsible, go to the movies, or get drunk"....

In testimony before a Congressional committee, one physician opposed Baker's Little Mothers Leagues, stating, "If we're going to save the lives of all the women and children at public expense, what incentive will there be for a young man to go into medicine?" (O'Hern, 1985, p. 27). When the Bureau of Child Hygiene was formed, a petition was signed by more than 30 Brooklyn physicians and sent to the mayor demanding that the bureau be abolished because "it was ruining medical practice by its results in keeping babies well" (p. 27)."

The more things change, the more they remain the same....

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jettakd March 28 2012, 16:26:22 UTC
Every time women get the least bit of independence and control over our lives and the lives of existing children, we will be more and more villainized by men in power.

Ngl though, I did make a bit of a shocked face at the statement about healthy babies being a bad thing, cause dayum that's a whole other level of evil.

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carmy_w March 28 2012, 16:56:18 UTC
Can't disagree; but it ranks right up there with the whole "save teh fetus, let the mother die!!1!" movement going on right now.

As if the fetus can magically/miraculously support itself with a dead host.

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jettakd March 28 2012, 16:57:47 UTC
Seriously. Women aren't machines as much as these guys want us to be. Start working on external wombs if you are so damn concerned, dudes.

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poetic_pixie_13 March 28 2012, 19:35:37 UTC
She was fucking amazing. Omg. Omg. She was also queer, later in her life her partner was the novelist Ida Alexa Ross Wylie, after Dr. Baker retired the two of them moved to New Jersey with another woman, Louise Pearce.

Also.


... )

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jettakd March 28 2012, 20:20:56 UTC
YES, KATE BEATON.

Ngl I totally was inspired to give her her own post cause of Kate XD I got her book for Christmas and everything!

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tabaqui March 28 2012, 20:05:59 UTC
An amazing woman. The battles she fought with male doctors - wow. And they never really got better, either.

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very_veggie March 28 2012, 22:41:14 UTC
Wow, what an amazing woman.

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